The Strangest Things I Have Ever Seen
Programming the computer is the process of arranging symbols and data into instructions a computer can follow. The languages we use are finite, initial conditions are known, and all data can be represented by simple numeric values. In such an ordered system, it would seem that a computer program's behavior would always be predictable. In most cases, this is true. In others, it is most certainly not. In fact, executing certain kinds of computer programs can have wildly unexpected results. In this presentation, Tarbell will explore the bizarre, the surreal, and the fantastic mysteries intrinsic to computer programming. Strange loops, self-reference, network paradox, chaotic attractors, recursive construction, hidden messages in the imaginary realm, spontaneous self-organization, emergence, and complexity will all be covered with visual interest. At times, the presentation will translate away from computer science into parallel mysteries of the natural world. Demonstrations of these ideas will be shown in both Processing and Flash. Projects and code will be given away as open source. Tarbell's own handcrafted computational artifacts will be distributed to a lucky few, so try and get a good seat.
Jared Tarbell is the creator of Levitated.net and Complexification.net. In June of 2005, Jared co-founded Etsy.com, an online marketplace to buy and sell handmade goods. He built many of the shopping tools and visualizations for the site in Flash.
Born in 1973 to William and Suzon Davis Tarbell in the high altitude desert city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, he was first introduced to personal computers in 1987. Jared\'s love of computation has grown in direct relation to the processing power of these machines. Jared holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from New Mexico State University. He is most interested in the visualization of numerical processes and the life-like properties of complex, computational systems.
Jared is an advocate of open source philosophies, and as such, freely distributes much of his work in modifiable form at both Levitated.net and Complexification.net.